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Caitlin Origin and Meaning

The name Caitlin is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "pure".

An Irish and Welsh form of Catherine, Caitlin was a boom name of the eighties, rocketing from obscurity (Americans first heard it via the wife of doomed poet Dylan Thomas) to the height of popularity in the space of a decade. The original name was gradually eclipsed by its myriad spelling variations -- Katelyn and Kaitlyn both soon topping it on the popularity lists.

Now, most forms of Caitlin, including this most-authentic one, have started to dip, though there have been thousands of girls named Caitlin -- and Katelyn and Kaitlyn ad infinitum -- every year for the past three decades. So, while Caitlin is certainly one of the loveliest variations of Catherine, it's been overused to the point of semi-retirement, at least in the U.S. Cait might be a short form.

Actor Breckin Meyer named his daughter Caitlin in 2003. Caitlyn Jenner also brought a renewed fame to the name, though she uses the -lyn variation.

16 names similar to Caitlin

These 16 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Caitlin. If you didn't find an alternative name that you like better than Caitlin, try our name generator. It allows you to go beyond the similarities of a name, which can provide a lot of inspiration!

snowsbeloved Says:

britney d Says:

Caitlin is the Irish form of Cateline, which is the French form of Katherine. I don't know why my font is italicized either. Katerina is also a form of Katherine, and Kayln is also thrown in there some where.

snowsbeloved Says:

You do know that Cathleen came from Catherine though, right? So technically, Caitlín is an Irish variation of Catherine. I have never heard of the Carleen pronunciation though. I thought Carleen was a female variation of Carl which comes from Charles.

Caitlyn Says:

My name is "Caitlyn" and I love the spelling of it! I prefer it with a "C" and I dont mind the "Y" instead of an "I" I grew up around many Caitlyn's and I was the only one who spelt it that way! Spelling aside its a nice name!

gmdx Says:

gmdx Says:

"Kate-linn" is the modern pronunciation. While "Cat-leen" may be the authentic pronunciation, it does sound a bit absurd to most modern ears.Times change, languages evolve, and names do to. Live with it.

Catastroffy Says:

I love this name and I think it's not overused where I'm from - the UK. I have never met a Caitlin, only a Katelyn, who happened to be American anyway. I think this is very pretty and I love it along with Catrin and Catrinel.

Guest Says:

paf719 Says:

my name is caitlin and i was one of about 10 in my class... all of us pronounced our names "kate-linn" not "cat-linn" or "cat-leen" (which is an absurd pronunciation btw)actually if people joke around and call me "cat-linn" i get decently annoyed

Theodora_Phoenix Says:

Caitlin is a great name, it's such a shame that it was replaced with Katelyn, Kaitlyn amd all those other variations. There just made up and ruined this pretty name, which isn't even pronounced the same in the first place. Caitlin will always be the best! Not too offend anyone named, Kaitlyn or Katelyn just saying that Caitlin is a different name.